UPDATED: NORAD’s Santa Watch

Ah, it’s that time of the year again, when the nation’s military might is put to good use and spends time and effort to track the Jolly Ole Elf as he makes his way through the sky on Christmas Eve. But no money. It’s all a volunteer effort by men and women of our beloved Air Force to help the good boys and girls follow the master toygiver. Go to the Web site. Check out all the stuff that is on there. This is something for all people, not just the mil-types who come here often. You can learn about the history of Santa’s sleigh though his climb rate and emissions are “classified.” Seriously. And check out this video. His call sign is “Big Red One.” He’s escorted by Canadian CF-18 Hornets. Seriously.

[youtube=”http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=hrIF68Dc68o]

Readers of the blog and you know who you are know I love this. And I am not a big Christmas guy. I just love the fact that so many airmen dedicate their time to making life a bit better for millions of children world-wide who tune into the site. It’s fun and at the same time, promotes the mission of NORAD.

And friend of the blog, Jeff Schogol of the Air Force Times writes on his blog that the CF-18s will not be armed this year so the jolly old elf has to rely on his reindeer for promotions should bogies appear. Though, given that he can go well past the speed of light, I am not too worried about Kris.

But a NORAD spokesman confirmed to FlightLines’ weapons/Santa expert that the “missiles” are actually fuel tanks.

“Guilty as charged, we tried to give it a more operational feel this year; that was purposefully done to try to highlight our mission sets,” said Lt. Cmdr. Bill Lewis. “If you look at the second promo video we have where it talks through a mock training exercise, it really lays out what our different missions are and shows the different radar sets.”

Author: Andy Kravetz

Andy Kravetz has spent most of the past 16 years covering the area's legal system as well as the military. in that time, he's crawled in the mud, flown in transport planes, and written about a man prosecuted for terrorism. This blog will reflect all those interests and then some.
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